The bumblebee Honda may not be everyone's favorite in the style department, but it gets two nods from our testers in the For My Money picks.
All the bikes are so close its hard to call. Picking just one is almost a crime. How cool is that? Man, times are good for street bikes. If I were forced to pick just one to take to the next trackday... while the Suzuki rocks I think I would have a lot of fun on the Honda.
Shawn Roberti: The bikes are all really awesome. The new Honda and Kawasaki definitely took a leap forward in technology over the previous models. It's hard not to pick one of them as the best. But I have to say, my favorite is the Honda, I prefer its looks, handling and overall feel.
Adam Waheed: It's pretty crazy to think that sportbikes have progressed as far as they have in such a short period of time. The days were you'd pick one bike over the other because one was significantly faster or handled better are pretty much over. All of these bikes rip and I would be more than happy to have any one of them in my garage. However, when you're laying down over 10-large on a bike, you want something that you can really enjoy day in and day out. Something that you're not going to kick out of bed after you get it wet the first few times. And for me that bike is Ducati's 1098. It might not be the fastest, best handling, or even most comfortable, but I'd buy it because when you're riding it you know you're on something special. The bike has character and gives the rider feedback from every single surface they come in contact with. The V-Twin engine has by far the most amount of grunt low to mid-range grunt and I love the mean mugs I receive from passerbies at a stoplight when they hear the clack-clack-clack of the dry clutch. The brakes are completely overkill - at least on the street, but I take solace in knowing that I'm riding an advanced piece of machinery that not every average Joe Blow motorcycle dude can either afford or ride.
Comfortable ergos, reasonable pricing... What are you my mother! Adam and Ken would abandon logical fiscal decision making and follow their heart by picking the pricey Ducati.
For my money, it comes down to three motorcycles the Ducati, Kawasaki or the Honda. Historically I chose the open classer based on which one is the most exciting to ride and this year these are the ones that get my juices pumping. Since I can't take all three and my fairy godmother stipulates I can only have one - then I won't go into a long drawn-out diatribe like my sidekick Heed subjected you to because the choice is relatively easy. I close my eyes, click my magic A-stars together three times and: I'll take the only bike that feels like an exotic sports car on two wheels, the only bike that looks as amazing as it rides and the only bike that would help me avoid riding on the street. Voila, the Ducati 1098 just appeared in my garage.
Sid: No comment...
